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Oxford railway station
3.649 |usage0405 = 3.956 |usage0506 = 4.077 |usage0607 = 4.541 |usage0708 = 4.713 |usage0809 = 5.081 |usage0910 = 5.427 |usage1011 = 5.798 |usage1112 = 6.227 |platforms = 3 |original = Great Western Railway |pregroup = Great Western Railway |postgroup = Great Western Railway |years = 1852 |events = Opened |years1 = 1971 |events1 = Rebuilt |years2 = 1990 |events2 = Rebuilt }} Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, northwest of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road, and on the line linking with . It is also on the line for trains between and Hereford via . It is a starting point for fast and local trains to London Paddington and for local trains to Reading, Worcester and . The station is operated by First Great Western, and also served by CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways trains. Immediately to the north is Sheepwash Channel Railway Bridge over the Sheepwash Channel. History .]] The Great Western Railway was first opened to Oxford on 12 June 1844 with a terminus station in what is now Western Road, Grandpont. In 1845 the Oxford and Rugby Railway began to build its line, starting from a junction at New Hinksey south of the GWR terminus. The junction was known as Millstream Junction, and was between the future sites of and , both of which were opened in 1908. The GWR took over the ORR while it was still being built, and opened the line as far as on 2 September 1850. For just over two years, trains from Oxford to Banbury started at Grandpont, and had to reverse at Millstream Junction in order to continue their journey. The ORR line included a new through station in Park End Street, so when this opened with the extension of the line from Banbury to Birmingham on 1 October 1852, the original Grandpont terminus was closed to passenger services. The old station at Grandpont became a goods depot, but was closed completely on 26 November 1872, the day that the broad gauge tracks were removed north of Didcot. The site of the station was then sold, as was the trackbed from Millstream Junction, some in length. Major subsequent changes were removal of the last gauge tracks in 1872 and of the train shed in 1890–1. The station was substantially rebuilt by the Western Region of British Railways in 1971, further improvements being carried out during 1974 including the provision of a new travel centre, and the new main building and footbridge were added in 1990. The station has always been busy. In addition to current services, formerly there were others over the Wycombe Railway, Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway, and Blenheim and Woodstock Branch Line. Through trains from the north to the Southern Railway also typically changed locomotives at Oxford. It was for a time known as Oxford General station to distinguish it from the London and North Western Railway's terminus of the "Varsity Line" to , which was adjacent and came under joint management in 1933. On 1 October 1951 British Railways closed Rewley Road station to passengers and transferred its services to the former GWR station. South of the station immediately west of the railway tracks is Osney Cemetery, established in 1848 just before the current station site. Nearby is the site of the former Osney Abbey. Plans Further expansion Passenger traffic at Oxford is growing rapidly. In the nine years 2003–12 the number of passengers using the station increased by 71%.Office of the Rail Regulator data: see infobox at head of article. In November 2009 it was announced that Oxford station would be expanded. A £10 million joint development between Network Rail and Oxfordshire County Council would create a new platform on part of the station’s long-stay car park. The new platform (south of platform 1) would allow trains to arrive and depart from the same track and reduce the need for empty trains to be shunted around the station. Currently, in busy periods trains can be kept waiting outside of the station for a platform to become available. A new covered footbridge would also be built over Botley Road to link the station building with the new platform, replacing the existing footbridge to the car park. The new platform was to have been brought into use during 2011, and was to be part of the city and county councils' West End Area Action Plan for the western part of the city centre, which also considers other rail projects such as Evergreen 3 and the Paddington – Oxford electrification. Project Evergreen 3 's Saïd Business School.]] and a Covered Carriage Truck in a siding at Oxford station in 2004. In 2013 the parcels platform will become a passenger one and extended into the car park.]] In August 2008 Chiltern Railways announced Project Evergreen 3, a proposal to construct a link between Bicester Town and the Chiltern Main Line, to allow a new Oxford to London Marylebone service to run via Bicester Town and . The single line between Bicester Town and Wolvercote Tunnel will be doubled and a new station will be built at . Work began in 2013, and the service is due to start in 2015. From 2017 this route out of Oxford will be shared with further new services on the former 'Varsity Line' to Winslow, Bletchley, Milton Keynes and Bedford. The scheme also includes two new platforms at Oxford station, to be built on the site of the disused parcels depot. The new platforms would initially be five carriages in length, but provision will be made for them to be extended southwards to eight carriages. Services map of railways in the Oxford area]] stables and units in the sidings to the north of the station.]] or |route=Chiltern Railways Stratford-upon-Avon – Oxford Limited Service|col= }} |route=Chiltern Railways Oxford to Bicester Line |col= }} |previous= |route1=CrossCountry Manchester – Bournemouth |route2=CrossCountry Newcastle – Reading and beyond |col= }} |next= |route=First Great Western Cotswold Line |col= }} or Terminus |next= |route=First Great Western Cherwell Valley Line |col= }} |route=Chiltern Railways London Marylebone – Oxford|col= }} |previous= |route=Varsity Line Reading - Bedford /Milton Keynes |col= }} Line open; station closed |previous= Line open; station closed|route=Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line|col= }} References Bibliography * * External links * Chiltern Railways Evergreen 3 project Railway station Railway station Category:Railway stations in Oxfordshire Category:Former Great Western Railway stations Category:Railway stations opened in 1852 Category:Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways Category:Railway stations served by CrossCountry Category:Railway stations served by First Great Western Category:DfT Category B stations Category:British Transport Police stations Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1990